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ADJUSTMENT OF STREAM CHANNEL CAPACITY FOLLOWING DAM CLOSURE, YEGUA CREEK, TEXAS 1
Author(s) -
Chin Anne,
Harris Daniel L.,
Trice Todd H.,
Given Jeffrey L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2002.tb04362.x
Subject(s) - tributary , hydrology (agriculture) , riparian zone , channel (broadcasting) , environmental science , flood myth , sediment , vegetation (pathology) , floodplain , streams , geology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , geography , archaeology , ecology , medicine , computer network , cartography , engineering , pathology , habitat , computer science , electrical engineering , biology
In Yegua Creek, a principal tributary of the Brazos River in Texas, surveys of a 19 km channel reach downstream of Somerville Dam show that channel capacity decreased by an average of 65 percent in a 34 year period following dam closure. The decrease corresponds with an approximately 85 percent reduction in annual flood peaks. Channel depth has changed the most, decreasing by an average of 61 percent. Channel width remained stable with an average decrease of only 9 percent, reflecting cohesive bank materials along with the growth of riparian vegetation resulting from increased low flows during dry summer months. Although large changes in stream channel geometry are not uncommon downstream of dams, such pronounced reductions in channel capacity could have long‐term implications for sediment delivery through the system.